Bears place Thomas Ives on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, protect Tyler Bray

For the second consecutive day the Chicago Bears have placed a practice squad player on the NFL’s Reserve/COVID-19 list, with wide receiver Thomas Ives joining defensive lineman LaCale London and inside linebacker Manti Te’o from yesterday. ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson reported that Ives tested positive.

Reports were that both London and Te’o tested positive yesterday, but the league said there were no high risk close contacts after tracing was tracked for both players, which makes this latest Ives positive a separate case.

The league will now run contract tracing to see in any additional players need to go on the Reserve/COVID-19 list due to Ives. A reminder that the list isn’t only for positive tests, it’s also for players that may have come into close contact with someone that tested positive.

In other Bears news from the transaction wire, they have elected to protect quarterback Tyler Bray again this week.

Cue the OMGs and WTFs!

Bray is their third QB and ensuring he sticks around is an easy decision to make each week for the coaching staff, especially with a pandemic raging on. Sure many of you want to see the Bears lose for a better draft pick, but if one of the two quarterbacks on the active roster are forced onto the Reserve/COVID-19 list the Bears need someone that can “run” the offense.

I’ll admit that I’m intrigued to see running back David Montgomery in the wildcat all game long, à la the Denver Broncos from a couple weeks ago, but that’s not how NFL teams want to do things.